Teens happy to be in Holland Youth Connections work program

Friday

Jun 27, 2014 at 7:05 AM

By Annette.Manwell@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4270

Tired, grungy, dirty, paint-splattered teen after teen dressed in fluorescent yellow T-shirts descended the steps of the old buses at Escape Ministries on Thursday afternoon.Being tired and dirty wasn’t a problem, though. Every teen who was asked was glad and thankful for the day’s work, provided by the Holland Youth Connections program.Eighty teens have summer jobs through the program. They work 12 hours per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. leaving plenty of time for boxing, one teen said, or going swimming, playing video games or hanging out with friends.Designed to reach out to the city’s most at-risk youth, the program provides a paycheck in return for a hard day’s work. In its second year, it grew from the original 12 to 80 youth, supported largely by donations from the community and several businesses.“I’m earning an honest dollar now,” said Alex Guebara, 15. He wears an electronic tether on his ankle for mistakes he made before, admitting to falling under the influence of the wrong people and gangs. “I don’t want to go back to that lifestyle.”There are 15 groups of teens working together at different sites. Students spoke Thursday — after wrapping up their second week of work — about what they’re learning. A group working at the Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway is learning about invasive plants. A group working for the Ottawa County Parks Department at the Riley Trails is learning why several trees there had to be cut down.Alejandro Barron, 15, is working at the city of Holland’s transportation services. On Thursday, he painted no polluting warnings by storm sewer drains.For all the teens, the job means money for things they need. Barron and a few others are saving up to pay for their driver education, for a car and insurance.For others, including Angel Rubio, 16, who is working at Cafe 58 in Zeeland, it's their first job and the paycheck means spending cash.“At my age it’s important to have money if you want to do something,” Rubio said. “And learning responsibility.”“I just wanted to do a job, to get out of the house and do something different,” Cerise Martin, 15, said. Pedro Soto, 16, came back for the second year. He plans to finish the summer job program this year after being fired last year.“I want to prove to Willie (Watt, executive director of Escape Ministries) I can do it,” Soto said. “I owe a lot to him. He’s helped me through a lot.”Getting fired happens, Watt said. Two weeks into this year’s program, seven teens have already lost their jobs. The waiting list for the program is long — replacing them was no problem.Watt calls it “practicing tough love.”“They need to be held accountable,” he said. “But held accountable out of love.”Two teens who were let go are being given their jobs back, Watt said, adding that one second chance could make a big difference to them.One teen’s group, including his supervisor, all wrote letters to Watt, explaining why the teen should be given his job back.“They understand the mistakes they made,” Watt said. “That’s what this program is all about.”Another teen and her supervisor spent time in Watt’s office after they returned to Escape on Thursday. She wasn’t fired, but she was told to get her act together.The groups, or teams, become like family, even this early in the program, Watt said.For some teens, family is what they need. Watt told a story of a teen whose mother is in prison. He’s sleeping on the couch at his brother’s and sometimes doesn’t have but one sandwich to eat in a day. His team members learned he was looking forward to his first paycheck so he could get groceries, a haircut and do his laundry.The team took the issue to Watt, who in turn made sure the teen had the money he needed now. That young man is now a member of Escape Ministries, Watt said, adding he’ll get meals and laundry access there.“Each team is a family,” Watt said. “I’m asking them to take care of each other.”— Follow this reporter on Facebook or Twitter, @SentinelNetty.

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